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[GigaBowser]

Yes my friends, it's that time of year again.

Sitting by the fire, wood burning, Christmas tunes jingling in the background, eggnog being passed around by loved ones, and you ignoring all of it because all you can think about is playing your new Christmas game.

These gaming memories are priceless. I can think of quite a few examples of these games over the years, but I will leave it up to you, the users of this establishment to come up with some of your most cozy all time Christmas games from times gone by.

 

[Imtjnotu]

ill never forget the day my brothers and I unwrapped our PS1. parents couldnt afford games at the time so we played the living hell out of that demo disk for atleast two months lol

 

[Orta]

Highlights are unwrapping my NES with Ninja Turtles pack-in. This was the future I thought after enduring years of my Atari VCS! Think that was 1990? I would have been 11 years old. It wasn't just the game, I finally had in my home this exotic looking console I was salivating over in pages of videogame magazines and tv adverts.

Pestering my parents to give me my copy of Sonic 2 (Christmas 92) early. They relented and gave it to me late on Christmas Eve and I ended up playing it the whole night through. It was probably the most hyped game in history back then before it launched. I got as far as the Metropolis Zone before conking out asleep on the floor.

See above for Donkey Kong Country (1994) and snes Doom (1995).

Fast way forward to whatever year Portal came out, loaded it up new years eve and was mesmerized. I played it right through past midnight and into the early hours of the new year. Fuck the celebrations, I wanted cake.

 

[thegame983]

Dreamcast for christmas.

Had a chest infection so i didn't have to go to mass. Got to play Soul Calibur while my two brother got hauled off. Best Christmas ever

 

[nush]

The only gaming device my parents brought me for Christmas was a used Tandy TRS80 with a box of pirated games. It was shit, but the clone of Phoenix was pretty solid.

 

[BennyBlanco]

N64 + mario 64.

 

[SEGA_2012]

Playing Christmas Nights on my Saturn.

 

[64bitmodels]

i got my Xbox 360 for the first time around 2011/2012. I remember getting a copy of Sonic Generations with it as well as a shitty kinect kids dancing game. Doesnt matter as i'd play the former all the year long and cherished that fuckin console. I still own mine 10 years later though it's seen better days.

I distinctly remember being weirded out there was no power button on the console (no tactile one at least) until i touched that hyper sensitive touch pad next to the disc drive. That shit felt so damn premium, like i was using a top of the line computer gaming system (which technically i was). especially since all electronic devices i had before didnt use something like that.

 

[Thaedolus]

It wasn't the year I got Mass Effect and food poisoning on Christmas Day...took me a long time to go back and play that game for real after the false start from being delirious and vomiting over and over again.

Maybe FFVII, Christmas 97...?

 

[Radical Dreamer]

playing gran turismo, such a mood in the menu

 

[cormack12]

PSX, Die Hard Trilogy, Dulls Airport



What a fucking year.

 

[stn]

Probably playing Donkey Kong Country at 3AM on Christmas morning in 1994. Think I did the same thing the following year when Killer Instinct released.

 

[Dick Jones]

Amstrad 6128+ with the Hollywood Movie Collection:
Batman

Robocop

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Ghostbusters II


Magic

 

[Sleepwalker]

Nothing will ever top unwrapping a N64 with donkey kong 64 and the expansion pack as a kid... It's been so long and it's one of my happiest memories as a kid.

 

[Mikado]

Picking up Division 1 & 2 last year on super discount.

Move over Die Hard, there's a new Cozy Christmas Tradition.

 

[SmokedMeat]

N64 ranks up there for me. Wife bought one for me along with Mario 64, Goldeneye, Rogue Squadron, an RAM pack, and Zelda OoT (it was just releasing that year).
Since I knew I was getting one I picked up Starfox 64 at Funcoland a week or so earlier.

Man, what a freakin lineup. It was gaming heaven. Played the shit out of all of them.

 

[Captain Toad]

Yes my friends

I'm not your friend, pal.

 

[Alexvot86]

N64 + mario 64.

And then Ocarina of Time a few Christmas' later. Childhood bliss.

 

[Aesius]

I've got a few.

Getting a PlayStation, Chrono Trigger, and a PC for Christmas 1995. The PS1 was shared between me and my brother, and the PC was our grandmother's gift to our family, but CT was ALL MINE. No Christmas ever topped this one, and I remember going back and forth between playing CT in my room, playing PS1 with my brother, and watching my dad haplessly try to setup our new PC. It was an incredibly exciting time.

Second is getting Turok 2 and Xenogears for Christmas in 1998.

Third spending Christmas break 2000 playing AOE2 nonstop online.

Fourth is coming home for Christmas break from college one year with my new Xbox 360 and newly purchased 32" HDTV. I spent the entire break basking in the glory of HD games and blasting through some games on XBLA, including Symphony of the Night, which I had never played before. It was great because I was an "adult" so my parents let me do whatever, and I was only back home for a few weeks. It was total guilt-free binge gaming.

 

[UnNamed]

ill never forget the day my brothers and I unwrapped our PS1. parents couldnt afford games at the time so we played the living hell out of that demo disk for atleast two months lol

My story, bro

 

[gaming_again]

Chrono Trigger
FFVII
Quake 3
GTA: SA

Those are the BIG Christmas memories for me.

 

[Mikado]

Bonus story. Not really cozy, but a moment nonetheless.

Many years ago my mother died of cancer a couple of weeks before christmas.

My wife and I had flown into town and had rented a suite in a long-term stay hotel to help my dad out who - as one can imagine - was a bit of a wreck. Since it was the christmas season, we had him over to our suite where we did up dinner etc.

My wife had recently gifted me Street Fighter x Tekken on steam cause she thought maybe it would be a thing we could play together online while I was flying back and forth taking care of things in the run up to the End.

Well, the netcode of the game being what it was, it wasn't well suited for that, but we were able to play head-to-head since we were both in the same room at this point.

So the old man was a bit of a WWE fan, and as he was watching us play he noticed the Hugo character and asked if he could play.

Well for an old dude who never touched games since the Apple IIe era, he just went HAM on that game. He was obliterating all of us in match after match. Then when we stopped playing with him because we got tired of him kicking our asses all the time he still kept at it against the CPU . Eventually he played so much he made himself motion sick and had to lie down for a bit. Never touched the game again after that and sadly, he died a year or two later.

We still laugh about his brief, but passionate, one-night-stand with Street Fighter though.

 

[Katajx]

We got a Genesis with Sonic 2 and thought not having to take turns with my brother was incredible since one of us could play as tails.

Then, a few years later, we got the N64 with Mario 64. A few years after that playing the wintry Banjo Kazooie levels and Mystical Ninja starring Goemon.

Just seemed like perfect timing and weather to be stuck on the house gaming.

 

[Aesius]

N64 + mario 64.

My parents had a lot of rich friends when I was a kid. They dragged me and my brother to a dinner party once, and the kids who lived at the house had their own living room upstairs with a big screen TV and a brand new N64 + SM64 (this was only days after launch). My brother was the oldest kid there and immediately took over playing, while I was the youngest and had to wait hours for my turn. But I remember being absolutely transfixed by it. It was the first time I had seen an N64 in person, although I had been reading about it in magazines for months at that point. I remember we spent a long time just learning Mario's various moves, and our minds were blown when someone figured out how to long jump.

 

[a multicultural team of v]

Shenmue, Sonic Adventure, the PSX demo disc, and FFVII. I got games pretty much every year from 1997-2002, but those immediately come to mind when I think Christmas.

Oh, and when I was younger I got Mega Man 4 on Christmas Eve and I was allowed to play it a bit before bed. I beat Hard Man and my mom was like "you just got the game and you already beat it!?!?!?!?!"

No mom, not even close.

 

[anothertech]

My brother and I didn't eat lunch for a year to save a dollar a day and went to buy the NES Christmas week. My parents couldn't afford it at the time and it was a huge deal for us.

They sold them at our local department store. When we got there the shelves were empty and the clerk told us they were sold out. In tears we headed out, a year of sacrifice for nothing.

Then, as we walked past the checkout stations, we both saw it. Sitting in a pile of return items and clothes. We ran over and grabbed the box. Checked it very carefully. Still sealed, stickers and tape in tact. We ran with it to my parents, told them to hold it and ran back to the game section. There was a single NES game left on the shelf. We had just enough cash to buy it and the console.

Karnov, the flame breathing Russian.

My parents made us save it for Christmas which was just a few days later. My brother and I salivated with anticipation for Christmas morning. When it finally came, nothing else mattered. We plugged it in and played Karnov for days. Getting up at 4 or 5 AM and playing into the night till we passed out.

Karnov set the bar for game difficulty for my brother and I for decades. The fact we beat it boggles my mind at times. That quirky 8bit upbeat Russian tune from the game still plays in my head from time to time till this very day.

 

[Lupin25]

Most recent?

2020 Miles Morales was a blast the month after launch for Xmas

 

[KillerKowalski]

My grandma always gave gifts to us on Christmas Eve...she gave me the first Halo.

My parent's gift of an Xbox wasn't until Christmas morning though. It was such a long night staring at the box/manual and dreaming of what could be.

The next day I played for a solid ten hours...possibly more. What's funnier is I remember thinking 'im not sure these controls are any good' with the dual sticks but we all know how that turned out.

 

[fart town usa]

Wii U for me.

I know I got other consoles at Christmas but nothing about those Christmas mornings really stand out in terms of videogames, it was more the toys that I also got.

Wii U is the console that mostly reminds me of Christmas and man it is just so damn comfy to get absorbed in. I tend to play Wii U titles in December and this year is no different. Not exactly sure what it is but playing it in December just gives me launch day excitement type vibes and it just feels damn good. Love that console.

 

[End Time]

In 2002, my classmates and I snuck into the rental store of the Sega Saturn for an afternoon

 

[Chastten]

Well, we don't really celebrate Christmas with presents around here, we got another holiday in December for that.

So instead, I'll go with my first year playing WoW back in the mid 2000's. I was already in my 20's but wasn't familiar with online or live service games yet so when Stormwind got all decorated for Xmas I was absolutely shocked in a good way. I loved that shit. Lighting fireworks was the bomb.

 

[bad guy]

Playing Fight Night 1 on the OG Xbox. I hit the bong before every fight during the intro, opening the roof window to put fresh snow in my glass bong and exhale the smoke. I was always fucked up when the match began just trying to survive the onslaught, only starting to kick ass a few minutes in after recovering from the bong.

 

[TintoConCasera]

I think my brother got Super Smash Bros on the N64 on Christmas. Good times.

 

[Neff]

Blackpool, Game Boy, Tetris, Batman, Fall of the Foot Clan, food, family, TMNT comics, Only Fools & Horses 'The Jolly Boys' Outing'...

Christmas '89 was one for the history books.

 

[IWasInSeinfeld]

Man.. this is going to be feels, so it was a really long time ago, I was maybe 8 or 9, now I am 25, but I was really into Star Wars with my friend, we played Battlefront 2 on PS2, split screen, and I remember we would call each other like really early in the morning and play it ever single day, that was on Christmas day too, but I also got Orochi Warriors 2 as a Christmas present and I played that on the Christmas morning as well, it was so light and warm, just thinking about it feels wonderful.

 

[rofif]

Chronicles of Riddick on the eve and Half-Life 2 next day... that's what I used to do as a teen

 

[VAVA Mk2]

Getting my SNES with Super Mario World the Christmas after they came out. I think I was 7 or 8. Pure bliss.

 

[Rendered Tangent]

Street Fighter 2, F-Zero, and Super Tennis on the SNES.

Got them all for Christmas one year and I think me and my brother and my cousins literally played for 12 hours straight on Christmas day, Boxing day, and the day after.

More recently, I remember playing The Division over the holiday period years back and it really did capture that white Christmas in New York vibe beautifully.

 

[RoadHazard]

The one I always think of is Diddy Kong Racing, specifically that snowy village course with a Christmasy soundtrack.

 

[RoadHazard]

My parents had a lot of rich friends when I was a kid. They dragged me and my brother to a dinner party once, and the kids who lived at the house had their own living room upstairs with a big screen TV and a brand new N64 + SM64 (this was only days after launch). My brother was the oldest kid there and immediately took over playing, while I was the youngest and had to wait hours for my turn. But I remember being absolutely transfixed by it. It was the first time I had seen an N64 in person, although I had been reading about it in magazines for months at that point. I remember we spent a long time just learning Mario's various moves, and our minds were blown when someone figured out how to long jump.

RTFM.



(It's just weird to me that people don't do this. I've ALWAYS done it before starting any new game, like a kind of ritual. Well, now they don't exist anymore of course, which is a bit sad.)

 

[Fart Knight]

Batman Arkham Origins. But I played it in summer.

 

[gaming_again]

Blackpool, Game Boy, Tetris, Batman, Fall of the Foot Clan, food, family, TMNT comics, Only Fools & Horses 'The Jolly Boys' Outing'...

Christmas '89 was one for the history books.

Ram of the Foot Clan…my man.

 

[Ev1L AuRoN]

Christmas '91, I was 7 years old and I got my SNES. Nothing ever topped that.

 

[Mozzarella]

Probably some Skyrim or Oblivion run, i used to play these games 1st playthrough in holidays and they are relaxing.
I dont know which one was more relaxing though, im closer to Oblivion i guess, the OST is more chill.

 

[Aesius]

RTFM.



(It's just weird to me that people don't do this. I've ALWAYS done it before starting any new game, like a kind of ritual. Well, now they don't exist anymore of course, which is a bit sad.)

Good luck asking a group of 9-13 year olds to read the manual. Wasn't even my game...for all I know, they tossed it and the box the instant they retrieved the cartridge.

 

[Putonahappyface]

I can still remember at aged twelve the excitement of booting up my Playstation one for the first time, to that nostalgic introduction. My first game was Tekken and wow my jaw dropped jumping from the graphics of a Mega Drive to a Playstation.

 

[RoadHazard]

Good luck asking a group of 9-13 year olds to read the manual. Wasn't even my game...for all I know, they tossed it and the box the instant they retrieved the cartridge.

I definitely did at that age. Always saved every box as well. That's not a disposable wrapper, it's where the games live. But yeah, I know most kids weren't/aren't like that. Kids are dumb.

 

[tusharngf]

got my xbox360 during that time. I was bit late as early adopter but i was able to play ninety nine nights and Doa 4 on CRT monitor.

 

[sedg87]

A couple of weeks before Christmas as a kid, I remember getting up to go to the toilet during the night, and that's when I heard strange noises coming from the living room; they were quite video game-like but didn't match anything from the games I owned. Fast forward to Christmas day and I was opening my Playstation. It turned out those noises were from my dad playing Croc. "Just testing the system" or words to that effect. Christmas was and still is my favourite time of the year but it felt a lot more special as a kid since my parents used to spoil me, particularly with new games every single year.

 

[MonkeyClaw36]

Be 14 year old Monkeyclaw (Christmas 1993). Own a Gameboy.
Open your first gift: Super Mario Land 2!!!

Yeah I didn't leave the sofa that day. It was snowing outside, it was warm inside and I had a fresh set of batteries.
Played all day, went to sleep knowing i'd play the shit out of it the next day.

Next day, 30 minutes in.... Finished the game.

It was pure bliss.


Now every Christmas is gaming related because my son and I get the same games for Christmas. It has been passed on to the new generation.
Last year "Santa" got us CoD Vanguard and BF2042